Can Bioidentical Hormones cause Breast Cancer?

By Jeri Ross, MPH The BodiBuddie

I first found out about bioidentical hormones 10 years ago from reading a book called What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause by Dr. John Lee. I credit bioidentical progesterone recommended by Dr. Lee, with curing my uterine fibroids. Dr. John Lee pioneered the bioidentical revolution and now millions of women are informed and trying bioidentical hormones. Bioidentical hormones provide many benefits to women (and men)…they have been used safely for years in Europe for PMS and menopausal symptoms. More recently bioidenticals are being prescribed to combat age-related diseases and conditions caused by declining hormone levels.
I started using bioidentical hormones under the care of a physician for age management 3 years ago at the age of 52. I have been asked by many, including my mother, if it is known if bioidentical hormones increase the risk of breast cancer. In other words, why are bioidenticals different from the synthetic drugs premarin and provera (PremPro)? In July 2003 the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI), the largest government study on synthetic hormones ever conducted, halted their research after early results indicated that women using conventional hormone replacement therapy (HRT) specifically PremPro, had a much higher risk of invasive breast cancer, heart disease and stroke.

I’ll explain the difference between PremPro and bioidentical hormones….

The human body normally produces estrone, estradiol, and estriol, progesterone, testosterone, and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). Bioidentical means “IDENTICAL”. Bio-identical does not mean “similar”. Bioidentical means the hormone molecule in the product is EXACTLY like the molecule produced by the human body. Bioidentical hormones act in the body exactly like your own hormones.

Much of the confusion about bioidentical hormone replacement (bHRT) flows from the failure to distinguish hormones from non-hormones. Obtaining FDA approval for a hormone-mimicking compound, such as medroxyprogesterone (Provera) or conjugated equine (horse) estrogens (Premarin) does not turn it into a hormone. Point/Counterpoint: The Case for Bioidentical Hormones; Hotz, S M.D. Ellsworth, D. M.D.

It is not necessary to debate whether the hormone is natural vs. synthetic because in fact while the basis for the production of bioidentical hormones is plant-based these substances are synthesized in the lab. Plants do not make human hormones, but some plants make compounds that have some hormonal effect. These, in their natural form, are called phytohormones (“plant-based” hormones). Such compounds, called sterols, are easily chemically modified so that they become identical to human hormones. An example of this is the diosgenin that is extracted from wild yams and soybeans to make human hormones in the laboratory.

Synthetic hormones are artificial hormones that have been altered from the original hormone molecule and do not act or look like bioidentical hormones. For example, the “hormone-mimicking” Provera is made from the same substances that bioidentical progesterone is made from, but the molecular configuration of it is changed in the laboratory so that it is not identical to anything found in nature. AND that is why it can be patented and sold for billions of dollars by the pharmaceutical companies…and why bioidenticals can not.

But are they safe and can they contribute to breast cancer?

As more and more women are insisting that their physicians prescribe bioidenticals, more valid clinical studies are being conducted. One reason sited for why physicians have been reluctant to prescribe bioidenticals has been the lack of credible study data. That data is starting to come in.

Analysis Finds Bioidentical Hormones Safer Than Standard Hormone Replacement…Mon Feb 23, 2009 10:59am EST

New Analysis Finds Bioidentical Hormones Safer Than Standard Hormone Replacement Therapy

Comprehensive review demonstrates bioidentical hormones are superior to Synthetic HRT with greater cardiovascular benefits and reduced risk of breast cancer.

TORRANCE, Calif., Feb. 23 /PRNewswire/ — The most comprehensive analysis to date, published in the Postgraduate Medical Journal, a leading peer-reviewed publication for practicing clinicians, showed that bioidentical hormones are associated with reduced health risks and are more efficacious than their synthetic counterparts. Conducted by a leading expert in hormone replacement,Kent Holtorf, M.D., medical director of the Holtorf Medical Group in Torrance,California, the paper reviewed and evaluated results from more than 200 physiological and clinical studies. It demonstrated that bioidentical hormone replacement therapy is both more effective and has greater health benefits for women suffering with symptoms of menopause than hormone replacement therapy with synthetic hormones. Synthetic forms of hormone replacement therapy prescribe substances such as Premarin, Provera and Prempro and present real health risks with increased risks of breast cancer, stroke and heart attack.

From France results regarding the use of bioidentical hormones and the incidence of breast cancer are now available.  More than 54,000 women were studied. Women using bioidentical estradiol and bioidentical progesterone enjoyed a 10 percent reduction in the incidence of breast cancer as compared with the non-user group. In other words, women who used bioidentical hormones in this study had a lower incidence of breast cancer than those who used none.

French study of bioidentical estradiol (E2) and progesterone shows reduced mortality rates,    when compared with non-use:  Gynecol Endocrinol.  2006 Aug; 22(8): 423-31. Espie, M., et al.

I should note here that you can now find hundreds of stories of women who have benefited from using bioidentical hormones with no increased incidence of breast cancer for well over 10 years now. Everyone agrees more clinical studies need to be conducted.

So — are bioidentical hormones for you?

The decision to start using bioidentical hormones is a personal one.  I suggest you do some of your own research and find out for yourself.

Always here to help,

The BodiBuddie

www.bodibuddie.com